Pneumatic clearer



Aug. 11, 1970 V R. M. JINGHAM, JR

PNEUMATIC CLEARER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed June 16, 1966 R m E vW ROBERT M. INGHAM,JR.

ATTORNEY 1970 R. M. INGHAM, JR 3,523,335

PNEUMATIC CLEARER Original Jugs 16, 2 Sheets sheet 2 INVENTOR' ROBERT M.|NGHAM,JR.

ATTORNEY Iinitcd Patent PNEUMATIC CLEARER Robert M. Ingham, Jr.,Spartanburg, S.C., assignor to Deering Milliken Research Corporation,Spartanburg, S.C., a corporation of Delaware Continuation of applicationSer. No. 564,462, June 16,

1966. This application Sept. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 669,355

Int. Cl. D01h /62 US. Cl. 19-263 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREThis application. is directed to a scraper of plasticlike abrasiveresistant material which engages at least one roll, preferably the topfront roll, of a drafting system to clean lint, trash, etc., therefrom.The scraper is freely movable and is operably associated with a suctionsystem to remove lint, trash, etc., from the ambient air around thedrafting system.

This application is a continuation of applicants copending patentapplication Ser. No. 564,462, filed June 16, 1966, now abandoned whichin turn is a continuation of Ser. No. 314,240, filed Oct. 7, 1963, nowabandoned.

This invention relates generally to textile handling apparatus employingdrafting rolls and more particularly to vacuum clearing apparatus forclearing of lint and fiber from textile rolls such as those associatedwith spinning frames, roving frames, and the like.

This invention relates generally to the handling of any textile fibersbut in particular is exceptionally useful in the spinning of dyedworsted fibers. Such dyed worsted fibers are difficult to spin due tothe repeated chemical processing of the fibers prior to spinning. Inprior art textile drafting apparatus, the top rolls frequently becomecoated with residues of the dyestuffs causing the fibers to wrapcompletely around the roll and mat thereon. Such phenomena is called alap up and has partially been corrected in the past' by the use of aclearer in contact with the roll. Such clearers are normally equippedwith felted pads, sheep skin, etc., and are either the revolving type orthe stationary flat type. Such clearers perform well for a while buttend to allow fiber to accumulate behind the clearer which, if notcleared by the operator, will eventually be dragged into the roll andcause one or more ends down.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a top roll vacuumclearer for a drafting system which efilciently cleans the top roll anddoes not require con stant cleaning by the operator.

Another object of the invention is to provide a top roll vacuum clearerwhich will pick up fibers which tend to wrap around the top roll in caseof an end down and which also will prevent accumulation of short fibersor foreign matter coming through with. the fiber being drafted.

A third object of the invention is to provide an efficient andeconomical top roll vacuum clearer which will maintain the top draftingroll in clean condition without constant surveillance of an operator.

3,523,335 Patented Aug. 11, 1970 "ice A still further object of theinvention is to provide a close'fitting vacuum type top roll clearer forthe top front roll of a drafting system which performs the dual functionof physically wiping the peripheral surface of the top roll and by theemployment of a vacuum system, removes the lint and debris dislodged bythe wiping action, to a point of collection before such material candamage the fibers being drafted.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be clearly apparent asthe specification proceeds to describe the invention with reference tothe accompanying draw ings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective schematic view of the new and improved vacuumclearer as applied to a conventional drafting arrangement;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a blown up perspective view of the clearer element with aportion broken to show the internal construction thereof;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bottom of clearer shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the roll clearing member employed in theapparatus of FIGS. l-3; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a modification of the clearer shown inFIG. 5.

Looking at the drawings the new and improved top roll vacuum clearer 32is shown, for the purpose of illustration, on a conventional draftingarrangement 10 to which a linear mass of staple fibers in the form ofroving 12 is fed from a supply source (not shown) to the draftingarrangement 10. The drafting arrangement is schematically illustratedfor purposes of simplicity of explanation and it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that conventional refinements may be addedthereto, if desired.

In the illustrated drafting arrangement 10 as shown three sets ofdrafting rolls are provided, namely back rolls 14 and 16, middle rolls18 and 20, and front rolls 22 and 24. As in conventional practice, atleast one of each of these sets of rolls is driven, and each succeedingset of rolls is as usual driven at a faster rate than the precedingrolls in order to give the desired degree of drafting of the fibers inthe zones between the respective pairs of rolls. As is well known in theart, drafting aprons 26 and 28 are employed in conjunction with middlerolls 18 and 20, respectively, to control the flow of fibers to thefront rolls 22 and 24. The fiber mass is twisted as it leaves the nip Nof the front pair of rolls 22 and 24 by the twisting action of atwisting and take-up device, which in the illustrative form of theinvention takes the form of a conventional ring and traveler twister 30onto which the drafted and twisted fiber mass is then taken up as yarn Yon the bobbin B.

In the preferred form of the invention roving 10 is dyed worsted fiberswhich are tender due to repeated chemical processing of the fibers andto the many drafting operations prior to spinning. These fiberstherefore tend to deposit residues of the dyestuffs on the front topdrafting roll 22. Such residue is extremely hard to remove and normallyrequires periodic clearing by the operator. To alleviate this situationand to prevent ends down and lap ups due to accumulation of short fibersand foreign matter in the worsted, a new and improved top roll vacuumclearer 32 is employed in combination with a conventional suctionmanifold 34. It is within the scope of this invention to employ arectangular manifold and a bottom roll clearer of the type disclosed incopending application Ser. No. 306,853, now US. Pat. No. 3,251,100, ifdesired.

Suction manifold 34, connected to a source of negative pressure, notshown, has a plurality of slots 36 therein beneath each of the lowerfront rolls 24 to gather the fly and lint adjacent the lower front rolls24. Further, if the fiber should break between the rolls 22 and 24 andthe twister take-up device 30, the worsted fiber being processedthereafter and prior to the epair of the break will be directed to thecollection zone (not shown) through the slots 36 in the suction manifold34. This eliminates the generation of a lot of lint and fly in thesurrounding area which will not only effect the yarn produced by theparticular set of rolls but also which can have a deleterious effect onthe yarn being produced in adjacent areas by other draftingarrangements.

Looking now to FIGS. l5 the clearer 32 is illustrated in the preferredembodiment as a T-shaped member having a head portion 37 of Delrin orother suitable material encompassing at least two arms 38 and 40 whichengage the peripheral surfaces of two adjacent top rolls 22,respectively. It is understood the arms 38 and 40- of the clearer 32 canbe extended to encompass more than one top front drafting roll withinthe scope of the invention. Attached to plate member 41 is a tubularconduit 42 rotatably telescoped within another tubular conduit 44 whichis in turn suitably connected to the suction manifold 34. Looking atFIG. 4 it can be seen that plate member 41 closes off the bottom of theclearer head member 37 except for the openings 46 and 48 adjacent thetop rolls 22. Tubular conduit 42 is rotatably telescoped within thetubular member 44 to allow the clearer head member 37 to automaticallyalign itself on the two top front rolls 22.

Each of the arms 38 and 40 has surfaces 50- and 52 formed on thesidewalls 54 and 56 which conform to the radius of curvature of thefront roll 2-2 and bear thereon to form a seal between the surroundingatmosphere and the interior of the. head member 7. Each of the arms 38and 40 has a rear wall 5 8 with an elongated notch 59 thereon for theflow of air into the interior of the clearer for the reasons hereinafterset forth.

A three pronged scraper 60 is slidably received within notches 62 in theinterior of the sidewalls '54 and 56 and is prevented from falling outof said notch by pins 64 which are inserted in the sidewalls 54 and 56and engage the rounded end 66 of the semi-circular notch 68 in the endsof the scraper 60. An are drawn through the end surfaces of the prongs69, 70 and 72 which frictionally engage the roll periphery conforms tothe radius of curvature of the top roll 22 being engaged. Preferably,scraper 60 is formed from Delrin or other suitable abrasive resistantmaterial and bears on the roll due to the. gravitational force exertedby the weight of the scraper. In its operative position, as shown inFIG. 2, an air passage 74 is left between the top of the scraper 60 andthe interior of the arms 38 and 40 to provide communication between thenotch 59 and the tubular conduits 42 and 44. Flange member 76 on platemember 41 is so designed so that it does not engage the periphery of thetop roll thereby providing an elongated space 78 the full width of thearms 38 and 40 to provide communication between the ambient air at thefront part of the roll 22 and the tubular conduits 42 and 44.

In operation, the drafting rolls 14, 16, '18, 20, 22, and 24 rotate inthe direction denoted by the arrows. If an end should come down anyfiber which tends to lap around the top roll 22 will be drawn into thenotch 78 and be directed to the collection zone through tubular conduits42 and 44 and suction manifold 34, thereby preventing what is known inthe trade as a top roll lap.

In normal operation, any accumulation of short fibers or foreign mattercoming through with the fiber being processed and clinging to the toproll will be wiped or scraped off the periphery of the roll 22- by thescraper 60 and directed to the collection zone (not shown) throughelongated space 78, tubular conduits 42 and 44. Any fibers wiped orscraped off by the scraper 60 which tend to slide under the prongs 69,70 and 72 toward the feed end of the roll 22 will be drawn into thenotch 9 and directed to the collection zone (not shown) through the airpassage 74, tubular members 42 and 44, and the suction manifold 34.Furthermore, the proximity of the notch 59 to the fiber being draftedwill tend to collect any loose fibers, lint, and fly whichare separatedfrom the fiber as it enters the nip N of the-drafting rolls- 22 and24..e .1

FIG. 6 shows a modified scraper or wiper 600. Basically thismodification consists of a felted member 80 secured in any suitablemanner in a fairly heavy channel section 82 of sufficient weight toexert a substantial force in the felted member against the top roll 22.Felted member 80 is shorter in length than the channel section 82leaving a space 84 at each end so that pins 64 can abut bottom 86 of thespace 84 toretain the scraper or wiper 600 within the confines of thearms 38 and 40 of the clearer. As in the preferred embodiment of FIGS.1-5 the felted member 80 is maintained in contact with the top roll 22to clean same due to the gravitational force exerted by the weight ofthe scraper or wiper 600.

The herein disclosed top roll vacuum clearer has many obviousadvantages. Clearer 32 is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture,and is easily installed as original equipment or as an addition toexisting frames. Clearer 32 not only prevents top roll lap up when anend comes down but serves to prevent or lessen the number of ends downby keeping the top roll clear of any fibre or trash which tends to causean excessive number of ends down. Furthermore, the new and novel cleareris substantially automatic greatly lessening the amount of time andattention required by an operator to clean and piece up ends on priorart drafting systems.

Although I have described in detail the preferred embodiments of myinvention, I contemplate that many changes may be made without departingfrom the scope or spirit of my invention, and I desire to be limitedonly by the claims.

That which is claimed is:

1. Textile drafting apparatus comprising a pair of drafting rolls, saidpair of rolls being in peripheral nip forming engagement with eachother, means supplying fiber to be drafted between said pair of rolls,conduit means mounted adjacent said pair of rolls, means connecting saidconduit means to a source of negative pressure, said conduit meanshaving end portions thereof bearing on one roll of said pair of rolls,and a pronged scraper member slidably mounted in said conduit means inphysical contact with said one roll of said pair of rolls tofrictionally clean the peripheral surface thereof, siad pronged scrapermember having the ends of the prongs which contact said one roll of saidpair of rolls lying on a circle which is substantially equal to theradius of curvature of said one roll.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein pins are provided in said endportions of said conduit means and engage slots in each end of saidscraper member to retain said scraper member within said conduit means.

3. Textile drafting apparatus comprising a pair of drafting rolls saidpair of rolls being in peripheral nip forming engagement with eachother, means supplyng fiber to be drafted between said pair of rolls,conduit means mounted adjacent said pair of rolls, means connecting saidconduit means to a source of negative pressure, said conduit meanshaving end portions, and a felted member slidably mounted in saidconduit means in physical contact with said one roll of said pair ofrolls to frictionally clean the peripheral surface thereof, and pinmembers in said end portions of said conduit means operably associatedwith each end of said felted member to retain said felted member Withinsaid conduit means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS DORSEY NEWTON,

France.

Great Britain. Great Britain. Great Britain.

Primary Examiner

